Canada’s new chief of defence staff faces funding challenges

OTTAWA – Questions of money were front and centre Monday morning during a changing of the guard ceremony that saw a new Canadian chief of defence staff installed.

In separate speeches to mark the occassion, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and outgoing chief of defence staff general Walter Natynczyk talked about military funding.

When Natynczyk was named chief of defence staff in 2008, the Canadian Forces was flush with cash and knee-deep in fighting in Afghanistan.

The new chief of defence staff, Tom Lawson, an air force officer, has a very different reality to deal with as he will be forced to spend most of his time cutting spending and managing prickly procurement projects such as the F-35 stealth fighter.

With Harper, Defence Minister Peter MacKay and other dignitaries in the crowd, Natynczyk used his final speech to encourage continued investments in the military.

This includes support for Canada’s men and women in uniform, he said, and the successful acquisition of key equipment.

Natynczyk reminded the audience that the Canadian Forces rarely knows what mission it will face next, and must therefore always be ready.

Harper took to the stage a short time later and acknowledged the military’s importance as the main institution for protecting Canada and Canadian sovereignty.

But he also reiterated that the Canadian Forces will not be spared the axe as the Conservative government slashes federal spending across the board.

The comments come less than a week after a report that Harper had ordered Defence Minister MacKay to do more to curb military spending.